MAREESA NICOSIA has been writing about education since 2008, starting at The Saratogian newspaper in Saratoga Springs. She joined The Journal News/Lohud.com in September 2011 and immediately turned her focus to the turbulent East Ramapo school district as a major part of her municipal beat covering the town of Ramapo in Rockland County. As a municipal reporter, she covered government, politics, crime, courts and business in addition to education. In September 2013, she became a member of the paper's Education Team, and began covering education trends in Rockland, Westchester and Putnam counties and more than a dozen school districts. Her investigative reporting has earned numerous awards, including from the Associated Press Media Editors (APME) for a staff East Ramapo project (2012) and from the New York State Associated Press Association (NYSAPA) for a solo project about homelessness in Saratoga Springs (2009). Mareesa holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the State University of New York College at Brockport and studied journalism at the University of Westminister in London. She lives in Riverdale, in the Bronx. Follow her on Twitter: @MareesaNicosia.